Current communications technology provides for the use of numerous devices and services for sending and receiving messages. The public switch and telephone network, for example, implements a variety of data transmission services. Telephone system users are typically equipped for sending and receiving real-time voice, fax transmissions, pages and voice-mail. Recent trends in telephone system advancement have focussed on “anytime, anywhere” capability, particularly in the field of wireless communications. Users desire the ability to place real time telephone calls at anytime and from any location.
In addition to the various telephone-based communication services in common use, Internet-based communications provide users with system and service alternatives. For example, it is common for a typical Internet user to have at least one, and usually more than one, e-mail account, and various voice-over-the-Internet systems have been suggested. Services, such as e-mail forwarding, have also emerged for Internet-based systems. Capabilities in Internet-based systems, however, have not achieved the “anytime, anywhere” capability of wireless telephone communications, in part because a personal computer (“PC”) provides the typical portal to the Internet. PC's are too bulky to provide “anytime, anywhere” access to the Internet, even in the laptop format.
Devices, such as handheld computers, personal digital assistants (PDA's), and wireless access protocol (WAP) devices could provide a platform for “anytime, anywhere” Internet access capability, but these devices create further difficulties for a user. Having multiple devices with multiple platforms requires a user to select among the available platforms and services. This could entail using a PC to access e-mails, a pager for messages, a telephone for voice mail, and a fax machine for faxes. Any one or more of these devices may not be available at a particular time. Additionally, the uncertainty of an intended receiver's access to these systems often causes a sender to send the same message over more than one of the systems. When the data is accessed from one platform, the message remains in the other systems. There is a need, therefore, for a system and method that provides a user the ability to seamlessly access messages and services from any available platform.